Shattered Petals of a Broken Rose
by DX1998
Summary: It should have been her. It always should have been her. Rose had given up everything for her sister, and would have gladly died in her place. Sparrow was her everything. And yet, here she was. She lived. Sparrow died. There was nothing left for her, anymore. Nothing but a burning desire to see Lord Lucien pay.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The first rays of sunlight began to fall over the lands of Albion, the nation blanketed in a thick layer of snow. While a beautiful sight, this was the most brutal winter the nation had endured in decades. Those few who wandered the land had to do so piled with clothing, or run the risk of freezing to death. And yet, Albion endured. It was almost unbelievably cold, and few would willingly be outdoors. A nation could not run on people staying indoors, however. Men and women wandered the land, most notably in the streets of proud Bowerstone.

The largest city in Albion, Bowerstone was _ancient_. The one-time village had become a bustling city, the capital in all but name. At its center, a truly massive castle dominated the town. The shadow it cast upon the sleepy city was a constant reminder, to those who were less fortunate. That there was something better. Near to this castle, nestled in a small sheltered area between two old buildings, an example existed. Inside a poor shelter, a young girl with brown hair haphazardly tied into pigtails stirred. Blinking her eyes in the dim sunlight that filtered through gathering clouds, the girl sat up and wiped at her watering eyes.

With a large yawn, the teenager stretched her arms, and looked over her shoulder. A sad smile crossing her tired and entirely too _thin _face.

Her sister. A little waif of a girl, so small and cold. Shivering beneath a thin blanket, the only warmth the sisters had. Their shack was a poor excuse for a shelter, barely worthy of the name. A patched roof, with but a single wall.

_Oh, little Sparrow. I wish I could do more._

Every day was like this, the girl reflected. Just another day of shivering in the dark. Eking out a living on the few scraps she could find. Their parents long dead and gone. The other adults in Bowerstone not caring for two orphan girls. It was everything she could do, just to keep them alive. It wore her down. It drove her mad with worry. It made her wish that, just once, magic was real. If magic was real, then they could find a new home.

Find someone to take care of them who wouldn't leave, not like the traders from the last year.

_No point in thinking about that, Rose. Magic isn't real. Wishes don't come true. All I can do is keep going. I have to keep going._

Sighing deeply, the girl- Rose -reached her hands down by her side. Buried beneath her edge of the blanket, an old notebook rested. Yellowed and frayed, it was all she had left from the traders. A little gift that she held on to. To keep her letters, and to keep her hope. Resting beside it, a well-worn piece of charcoal. Useless for fire. Perfect for writing.

_'I managed to find a nice piece of charcoal this morning, so I can finally start writing again. I still haven't finished putting down the story about the warrior girl who fights snow monsters. Sparrow always likes listening to that one-sends her right to sleep!'_

Rose glanced up at the distant castle, a melancholic expression lighting upon her gaunt features. If she could just live in that castle...not just sketch it on her notebook.

_'It's not so easy for me. Winter is getting colder, and soon our shelter won't be anywhere near enough. We'll freeze to death if we don't find something better. And the family of travelers who let us stay in their caravan last winter haven't come back this year. It was nice having someone to look after us for a change.'_

Was she bitter? Probably. The traders had been nice. They'd given her and Sparrow good clothes and even better meals. It had almost reminded Rose of her parents, what little she remembered of them. Having someone take care of _her _for a change. She hadn't need to stress or worry about her sister or work hard. She could just let the traders cook the meals and prepare the beds. She didn't need to cry herself to sleep, when she saw her little Sparrow shivering in bed. She hadn't needed to bear a burden that she could never show her sister.

Could have. Should have. Would have.

Pushing the dark thoughts from her mind, she continued to write.

_'If only we could find some secret passage into the castle...we're small enough that no one would notice us. We'd be like ghosts, or like mice hiding in the walls. We'd tip-toe out when everyone goes to bed and raid the larder. I bet they have so much food in there, they'd never even notice. _

_Bah, day-dreaming isn't going to get us anywhere. You have to think of something, Rose. You're the big sister, remember?'_

Think of something. Well. Staring at the castle wouldn't get food in their stomachs. It wouldn't make Sparrow stop shivering in her blanket. It wouldn't make Rose look any less like death warmed over.

_Right. We need a fire, first. Then I can wake Sparrow up. Maybe I can find some food in a dumpster..._

Mind set, Rose carefully replaced her notebook. Well hidden from her sister, who didn't need to worry. The worrying was _her job_. Standing on spindly legs, Rose leaned down and patted her skirt down. The worn fabric was rough and tore easily, yet, it was all she had. At least it kept her warm. She was thinner than her sister, and even walking to a can nearby reminded her of that. Her joints ached with each step, and her stomach had long since stopped growling and moved to a state of constant _ache_. Rose couldn't even remember the last proper meal she had.

Everything went to her sister. Little Sparrow. She got the best scraps, while Rose ate just enough to keep her strength.

_And I'm not going to get even that, if we freeze to death. Time to find some wood!_

* * *

"I've told you before, _no_! We'll never be _that _hungry!"

Rose stood straight and glared at the man before her. She stood with a strength she didn't really feel, and not just because her body was weak. The man was looking at her with sharp eyes, eyes that roved over her too-thin body. Eyes that promised things she would rather not think about. Eyes that were dark pits. Eyes that she had to keep away from her sister, who stood beside her without a single idea what was going on.

The man, top-hat and raggedy clothes giving him a ruffled appearance, snorted. He laughed.

"Oh, you'll be back, little Rosie. Eventually, you'll come back. Everyone always does. Old Arfur will treat you _well_."

Fighting down a shudder at his oily words, Rose grabbed her sister's hand and tugged her along. Sparrow winced at her tight grip. Rose wished she didn't have to do that. She never wanted to hurt her sister.

She couldn't stay near that man.

_I...I can't let him. I can't give that. It's all I have left, other than Sparrow._

Even as that thought entered her mind, even as Arfur faded from sight and a crowd of people took his place, Rose felt her stomach sink. For all her bravado? For all her disgust? She knew what he wanted. She had known for a long time, ever since she was old enough to get that kind of attention from a man.

She knew now, that if it came down to giving _that_ up, or Sparrow starving?

_I'd give it all up. Everything for little_ _Sparrow_.

Rose shook her head furiously, desperately trying to get the man's smug face from her mind. She looked, instead, at her sister. Sparrow had quickly forgotten the man. Her attention was given entirely to the crowd before them. She couldn't hope to see past them. Rose couldn't see above the heads before her. Yet, it didn't matter to her sister. Sparrow was still a child.

She was still innocent.

"That's why I've done everything..." Rose mumbled to herself, a smile flitting across her face. Everything for her.

"Rosie..." Sparrow didn't hear those words, instead turning her brown-eyed gaze up at her sister. "I can't see anythiiiinnnggg."

Smile, fragile though it was, firmly in place...Rose nodded her head. "Of course you can't, we're too small!"

Sparrow pouted, "Rosie!"

Giggling a little, Rose leaned down. She was thin and weak, but she could do this, at least. 'sides, it let her keep a good eye on her sister. If she didn't do this, Sparrow would just try and push through the crowd or something. Her sister was too adventurous for her own good, sometimes! And...well. Rose liked doing this. It let her be the big sister. Instead of the one doing everything for both of them.

So, she let Sparrow hop on her shoulders, and climbed back to her feet. She didn't let her wince show. She hid a pain in her back that never quite went away.

"Can you see better now, Sparrow?"

Rose already knew the answer. The excited gasps from her sister told her everything she needed to know. Her smile widened, even as her legs shook beneath her. Sparrow's thin body was entirely too light...and even that was too much. Rose couldn't hold her up long.

She didn't need to.

"Allow me to help you."

Head twisting to the side, her twintails brushing her sister's bare legs, Rose saw a woman in a red robe beside her. A patched and worn red robe, nearly as poor condition as her own clothing. Yet...well cared for.

The woman wearing it?

"Who're you?" Rose asked, a hint of suspicion in her childish voice. _No one _just offered to help like that. Not in the slums.

Beneath her hood, the woman smiled. "Just a traveler, I'm afraid. I saw you struggling."

Her voice was _ancient_. Rose had never heard someone sound so old. Yet, her face was young. Rose couldn't see her eyes, but what she could see looked barely older than herself. A young woman who was wearing something so old? Was she...was she like _them_? An orphan?

Before Rose could hope to question it further, her sister tugged on her hair. Biting back a wince again, the teenager tilted her head up and gave a mock glare towards her sister. Sparrow just grinned down on her, and pointed over the crowd. "There's a trader! He's got a _loooottt _of stuff, too!"

_Stuff we can never get_.

Rose didn't vocalize that. She settled for smiling at her sister. "Let me know if you see anything nice, Sparrow. Maybe we can look at it, before we find something to eat?"

Her sister had already stopped looking at her, though. Her wide blue eyes were focused entirely on the trader. As for Rose? Well, Rose turned her identical gaze back to the strange woman. Even as the trader shouted in the background...

"A-ladies and A-gentleman! I have traveled the land accumulating many wondrous objects! And today, for the bargain price of just five gold, you can have one of them!"

...Rose didn't pay him any mind. She needed to know who this woman was. And why her hand was resting on her shoulder, helping her keep Sparrow in the air.

"Don't worry, little one." The strange woman smiled. A thin, barely visible line. "I'm merely here to watch the trader sell his wares. I have no intention of hurting you, or your sister."

Sparrow giggled at the man's enthusiasm, while Rose shifted slightly under her sister's weight. The woman didn't seem bad. Rose just didn't trust easily.

"Why do you want to help us, huh?" The teenager's voice was sour and suspicious. "What are we to you? No one helps us."

A shrug answered her question, and a mysterious smile. "Perhaps I see more than meets the eye. Perhaps you and your sister need a little help. Perhaps I'm just an old woman, who is tired of seeing suffering in this world."

Above them both, Sparrow giggled. Her attention never once left the man, just as Rose never once turned away from the woman. One sister in the heart of childhood, without a care in the world. One sister aged before her time, staring at a woman who still helped keep her standing, despite the pain in her joints.

"...why do you _care_?" Rose almost whined, unable to believe that she was getting any help. The traders had taken all of her hopes away, when they had left her in the dark.

Beyond the women, beyond the crowd, the trader unveiled his last item. Rose couldn't see it. Sparrow only caught a glimpse.

_Both _of the sisters turned their heads sharply, when the man's voice carried over the suddenly quiet crowd.

"This small, unassuming box is actually a device created by the ancients themselves! Used by the kings of the Old Kingdom!" The trader shouted in his best pitch yet. "Just turn the handle three times, exactly three, and it will grant you one wish. Remember, just five gold!"

Sparrow shouted excitedly, and probably pointed at the box. Rose shook her head, and carefully moved her sister back to the ground. Why bother getting her hopes up? The strange woman was strange. And staring at her. It didn't matter. There was no such thing as magic. She knew that better than anyone. All of her wishes had never been granted. Why would some box from the Old Kingdom- if it even was -do anything different? It wouldn't. It couldn't. Wishes didn't come true and magic wasn't real.

"There's no such thing as magic."

Saying that aloud, Rose patted her sister on the shoulder. Sparrow had slumped down, and refused to meet her sibling's eyes. She just kicked stones on the ground, even as the crowd dispersed in the distance. The strange woman? She stared at the sisters, and held her hands to her sides. It was still impossible to see her eyes.

Yet, Rose felt as if they were staring into her soul.

"We live in grim times indeed if the young are so bitter to not believe in magic. Most children your age believe eagerly." Her aged voice was rough and coarse now, none of the former warmth remaining. As if she was disappointed in what she had heard. "Truly, I had believed you were different. You _are _different, though you do not yet know it."

Rose hardly enjoyed being talked to like that. A hint of her anger still remained from Arfur, as well, and this stoked that ember. "Look, I can see your eyes are bad. But that box is rubbish!"

The hooded woman glanced over at the trader, her lip curling slightly. "That's what the trader thinks, yes. But you...you have an inkling don't you? You _want_ to believe it is magic."

While she was still on edge, Rose's resolve began to falter. She would never admit it, especially not in front of her entirely too impressionable sister. She _desperately_ wanted to believe.

Except, there was no such thing as magic.

"You really think so?" Even so, she felt the _slightest_ stirring of hope. This woman was strange and knew things she shouldn't. She had helped, if only a little. Maybe...maybe...

The woman smiled thinly, once more. She stepped away, and began walking to merge with the crowd. Her croaking words echoing in the cold air.

"For five gold, you could find out."

_Five gold. Five gold._

Glaring at the unfairness of it all, _Rose _kicked at the ground this time. Her words were filled with enough bitterness that even her little Sparrow noticed, the younger girl gripping her hand tightly. "For five gold we wouldn't go hungry for a week!"

The old woman turned her head away again, "And yet, at the end of that week, you and your little Sparrow would be no closer to your dream, Rose. No closer to the inside of the castle."

With those parting words, the woman continued walking, vanishing around the corner.

Sparrow didn't seem overly worried, even while she held her sister's hand. Rose?

She stared at where the woman had been, eyes wide with shock and a little _fear_. Her feet were fused to the ground and her body shook. How...how had she...?

_How did she know our names?_

"Rosie...?" Sparrow spoke up, her voice tiny in the cold air. Mist forming from pale lips, under wide blue eyes. "Do you...do you think we can get that box? If we can wish for anything..."

Rose desperately, truly, wanted to say no. She hadn't been lying. Five gold could feed both of them for _more_ than a week, if they were careful. If she ate less and saved more for her little Sparrow...five gold. _Five gold_. It could feed them for weeks. She knew some cheaper traders who could give them a full meal for one gold, and Rose could make that last for _days_. Five gold could feed them for a month.

Sparrow wouldn't go hungry. Rose could build back her strength. They could continue living on as they always had.

_As we always do._

Clenching her hand tightly, Rose felt her stomach ache. It was nothing on her heart. Her tired gaze had drifted to the hopeful face of her sister. To Sparrow's shivering, _thin, _body. Her sister deserved better than this. Rose would do anything for her. Had given up everything.

Was giving this up really any different?

"We're going to get some gold for the music box little Sparrow," Rose spoke, hoping against all hope that she wasn't making a mistake.

* * *

In the process of getting gold for the box, Rose found herself staring at a sight that made her blood roil.

"C'mere you little mutt. Imma give you a good treat..."

A neighborhood bully, standing menacingly over a whining puppy. The puppy had welts on his fur, and was cowering away from the boy. The bully's face was split in a wide grin, broken and blackened teeth gleaming in the dim light. He stalked back and forth, twirling a toy sword in his hand. A much larger sword than the one on Sparrow's back. This boy...Rose stayed away from him. She couldn't fight. Little Sparrow _tried_ to fight, yet, she was too young. And Rose would never, ever let her get hurt.

Despite this, when she saw the puppy turn scared eyes to her, Rose felt anger well up in her like a fire. Roaring to life with a crackle and a rush in her ears.

She saw little Sparrow, when she had been hit by another bully.

"Oi!" Rose practically screeched, her body producing a volume entirely too loud for its lithe frame. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The bully turned around, grinning evilly at her. "What's it to you, girly? I'm having a bit o' fun, can't ya tell?"

Rose growled under her breath, stalking up to stare down on the shorter boy. She may be thin, but she was _tall_ at least! "You little...leave that poor dog alone!"

Unfortunately, her height had its disadvantages too. The boy didn't even hesitate. Before Rose could so much as blink, he had jumped up. His forehead connected with hers in a resounding _clang_.

_OW!_

Falling to the ground, cradling her head, Rose knew nothing else. Her head rang and her eyes watered. She couldn't think past the pain, even as sounds rang above her. Shouts that she couldn't understand. Dull thumps that didn't make any sense. Blurry images, past the tears and ringing in her ears. Something was happening, and she couldn't even think straight! It was all Rose could do to pull herself into a sitting position, gritting her teeth and groaning in pain. She couldn't see past it.

Not until she felt a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking it.

"Rosie...Rosie..." Sparrow, her little Sparrow, sounded so worried.

It was the only thing that could fight past the pain. Her worry about her sister. Rose forced her eyes open, biting back a cry and more tears. Her sister slowly swam into view, not a mark on her. Only a worried frown.

"Sp..Sparrow?" Rose choked out, her words filled with lingering pain. "What happened to...?"

Sparrow's worried frown turned into a grin. The little girl held up her toy sword triumphantly...blood on the blade. "I gave him a good thrashing, Rosie! He didn't know what hit him!"

Blinking, unsure if she had heard right, Rose looked past her sister. And saw the bully, splayed out on the ground. Out cold and not a threat anymore.

_How did she-?_

Rose didn't question it. She only reached out, tugging her sister into a tight, desperate hug. Sparrow squawked in shock, arms flailing wildly as her sword fell to the ground. Rose didn't care. She felt tears of _shame_ running down her face, and only tightened her grip further.

"Sparrow...little Sparrow..." She babbled, her headache probably taking away whatever worries she had about saying this. "Don't do something like that again, you hear me?! Don't fight someone bigger than you." She couldn't bear to look at her sister's face, settling for resting her head against her rough brown hair. "I'm the big sister...I'm supposed to protect _you_!"

"But Rosie, I can fight! I can fight better than you!" Sparrow protested, her words muffled from her mouth pressed into her sister's chest.

"I don't care!" Rose shot back, pulling back if only to look over her sister, desperately searching for any injuries. "I won't let you get hurt, got it? I-I-"

The dog was forgotten, and the other kids were forgotten. Rose only had eyes for her sister, begging her to answer. Begging her to understand, what she was trying to say. Rose couldn't see Sparrow hurt. She couldn't live with the idea of her sister getting hurt because of _her_. She was supposed to keep Sparrow safe. She was supposed to take care of her little sister. She couldn't do that if Sparrow did stuff like this.

She...she _couldn't_!

Sparrow, young as she was, didn't understand. She only saw that her sister was upset.

So she hugged Rose, and let her shoulder slump down. "Okay...I promise, Rosie. I won't fight bullies again."

Rose smiled and returned the hug, "It's a promise...alright?"

Neither sister said anything else to that. They only held each other tightly, while Rose recovered enough to move. To continue on the hunt for five gold pieces.

* * *

_It was all a waste. It was all a _waste_!_

That was what Rose had thought, when she had gone to sleep. Sparrow fighting the bully. Sparrow sneaking past drunks and killing bugs. Sparrow holding off Arfur, long enough for Derek the Guard to show up and chase the creep off. Her little Sparrow did so much for her, for her stupid _wish_. Why did she expect anything else? She knew magic didn't work. She knew that her wishes never came true. Yet, she had still tried. She had still wasted all that gold, on a _stupid box_ that played a _stupid tune_ and then vanished into _stupid thin air_. If the box was magic, it was only magic that made her want to burn it, if she still had it.

She didn't.

She had gone to sleep, Sparrow cuddled to her side and the stray dog nearby, with nothing to show for their adventures. They wouldn't get this lucky again. People in Bowerstone wouldn't pay them gold for odd jobs again. Not any time soon. On top of that, she hadn't really looked for food either! So they went to bed, hungry, cold and without any hope.

_Great idea, Rose. Great idea._

All of that was what she had thought. Until the moment she had been shaken awake by her sister and a barking dog. The moment she had been bundled up in a warm coat, and dragged along towards Castle Fairfax.

Her thoughts had taken a decidedly different turn, at that point.

She had been numb with shock and awe. Unable to comprehend that Derek was standing before her, with a smile on his pudgy face. That he was telling her and little Sparrow that they could go to Castle Fairfax. That _Lord Lucien himself _wanted to see them. It seemed so hard to believe. That maybe her wish actually had come true. That her and her sister may actually get to live in the castle, like she had wanted. It was impossible, right?

"Rosie! Look at all the paintings!"

Yet, Rose found herself standing inside the warm and well-lit castle. Staring at a rug thicker than her blanket, and walls covered in fancy paintings and gold. Something she had never seen in her life. Had never been even close to seeing.

"Sparrow...it worked. Sparrow..." Rose couldn't help the shake in her voice, when she looked over at her wide-eyed sibling. Her little sister, identical blue eyes shining in firelight, stared back. Rose pulled her into a tight hug, finally allowing herself to _let go_. "It worked, it really worked!"

"You're squishing me, Rosie!" Sparrow complained, past her own laughs of happiness. Neither sister had any attention for anything but jumping up and down, hugging each other tightly.

Rose couldn't care less. "We're in Castle Fairfax, little Sparrow! We're in the castle!"

It was, of course, that moment when an older man coughed behind them. The butler who had lead them in, in the first place. "Indeed, you are in Castle Fairfax, young ladies. Now, if I could trouble you to follow me...?" He gestured towards a distant door, that was suddenly all too close. "Lord Lucien is quite interested in meeting the two of you."

"Lord Lucien wants to meet us?" Rose already knew that, but she hadn't quite believed it. She still didn't believe it.

The butler just nodded, a thin smile on his face. "Indeed. Come along now, we don't want to keep him waiting."

Rose and Sparrow shared a look, before racing along after the man's long strides. He wasn't slowing down for anything. Questions directed at him didn't receive answers. The man was...well. He was like anyone else who was upper class in Bowerstone. To him, Rose and her sister weren't fit to be near him. He tolerated them, only because his Lord wanted them. Why, Rose didn't know. She also didn't much care.

"We're finally going to be home, Sparrow." Rose almost couldn't believe the words, when she spoke them.

Sparrow nodded back, a wide grin on her face. "Home!"

After all, it was what Rose had wished for. Not to meet Lord Lucien, or visit the castle. But to _live_ in it. If the box had truly granted her wish, if it truly gave her a way to make her sister have a happy life, then they would live in this castle. Right?

_-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-_

Stepping inside Lord Lucien's study was stepping into another world. Rose had never seen so many books in her life. Stacks upon stacks rested upon endless tables. The walls were covered in nothing but the spines of books, stretching up so high she couldn't crane her neck high enough to see the end. The amount of money it would take to have that many books...Lord Lucien must be even richer than she had imagined! Not to mention, the window was massive. The study itself was bigger than most houses in Bowerstone, and it was only part of the castle.

If she and her sister lived here, they'd never want for anything, ever again!

"Children." A smooth voice spoke up, the owner stepping into view. A kind smile directed at the pair. "It's come to my attention that you have some sort of…magic box. May I see it?"

Lord Lucien Fairfax. A tall man, with thinning black hair and thick sideburns. He wore fancy clothing that was probably more expensive than every meal Rose had ever eaten, and he stood tall before them. His smile was genuine and wide, nothing but care in his expression. This wasn't like the woman at the trader, or the butler who had greeted them. Rose felt _safe_. Lucien was kind and beloved by the people, and right now? He was giving her an expression of care that she hadn't seen on anyone, not even the traders. Not since her parents died.

As for his question, it was an easy one.

"It vanished m'lord. We were winding it up…we made a wish, and it glowed and disappeared…" Rose answered confidently, smiling back at Lord Lucien. He wouldn't be angry, surely? After all, the box was how they got here in the first place!

As if to prove her correct, Lord Lucien merely nodded. Smiling kindly and speaking softly. "It vanished, you said?"

"Yes, m'lord. The man who sold it to us said it was magic."

Lucien nodded, moving away from the sisters. He stood by his table once more, a curious look on his face. His eyes drifting down towards an open book, and back at the sisters. Was there something wrong?

"The box is of no interest to me. What's remarkable is that _you_ were able to use it." Lord Lucien's voice was still kind, though there was more of a questioning tone to it now. He turned his head back, looking at the girls with a glint in his eyes. "What did you wish for, if I may ask?"_  
_

Rose lightly pulled on her pigtail, while Sparrow held her hand tightly. Lucien continued to stare at the siblings, his kind features growing a little harder by the minute.

"Well, speak up. What did you wish for?"

"To live in a castle…like this one…" Rose answered, her face gaining a fresh blush. It sounded so silly, didn't it? A child's wish. But she _was_ still a kid. Besides, she didn't make the wish for herself.

_For Sparrow. Always._

"Perhaps that could be arranged," Lucien frowned slightly, as if deep in thought. He turned away from the sisters, gesturing towards the books all around. "I'm working to rebuild…well, I'm working on something wonderful. For which I need individuals with specific talents. If you would please step on the circle, I can discover if you possess these talents."

Circle?

Turning her eyes away from Lord Lucien, Rose looked down at the floor. A strange girl was in the middle of the study, right in front of the window. Some sort of weird marking that she didn't recognize was on it, and it...it seemed strangely familiar? Also, it scared her. A lot. "Um...Lord Lucien?"

With an almost fatherly expression crossing his face, Lord Lucien gestured at the circle. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you. All I require, is for you to stand on it. All your questions will be answered, then."

The two sisters hesitantly walked up the platform. As soon as their feet touched the curious carving underneath them, a brilliant blue light sprang up around the platform. It surrounded them on all sides, cutting them off from Lord Lucien and the rest of the room. It was almost _warm_, around them. It scared Rose even more, and Sparrow? Sparrow had clenched onto her sister tightly, desperately holding onto Rose's side.

"Rose..." Sparrow muttered, "I'm scared..."

"Don't worry little Sparrow," Rose whispered to her sister, trying to reassure her. Before turning to look at Lucien, asking- with a little more strength than she felt- a single question. "What is this, m'lord?"

"Nothing to worry about, my dear," Lucien distractedly replied. He wasn't even looking at the sisters anymore. His eyes were only for a book on his table, his hands frantically turning pages. "It's true…your blood…you _are_ Heroes. Both of you."

Rose's eyes widened, as Sparrow gasped by her side. "Heroes? You mean like in the old stories?" Sparrow's words were filled with awe, even while fear leaked into them. "Like the Hero of Oakvale?"

Lucien ignored Sparrow's question, and the fact she hadn't addressed him correctly. Instead, he touched the wall of blue light. A wall that turned a shocking crimson, as the Lord pulled his hand away. He hissed in pain, grimacing sharply. If Rose had been worried before, if she had been clutching her sister tightly? She doubled that. Lord Lucien's kind face had taken on a manic look, his sharp features narrowing into flint. He looked _mad_. The red light didn't help, casting his face into harsh shadow.

_"What _are_ you?"_

With nothing remaining of his kind, fatherly demeanor, Lord Lucien turned back to his book. He pulled page after page, looking for something. Something that Rose felt she didn't want to know.

"There was something here…"

"What's happening? What's that light?!" Rose cried out, letting her fear overwhelm her. Fear for her sister. Fear for their lives.

"Quiet!" the Lord shouted back, any pretense of kindness long gone. His words continued to become more and more crazed. "You aren't any of the three…one of you is the fourth…"

Lucien sighed after he said that, placing his hands on the table like he was steadying himself. And when his hands came back up...one held an ornate golden pistol. A weapon he pointed directly at Rose.

"What's going on?" the young girl shouted, her eyes going wide at the sight of a gun pointed at her.

"This isn't what I wanted…but nothing must stand in my way," Lucien replied, his hand shaking slightly as he cocked the pistol. "For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry. I had wanted to take you two in...but you see, nothing can stop me. One of you is destined to do so."

Cocking the pistol, Lucien's hand shook. His eyes watered. His aim didn't waver.

"So I'm afraid I must kill you, before that can come to pass."

Rose shut her eyes, screaming in fear. She heard the sound of the flint fall. The sound of a strike and a flame. Of a bullet shooting down a barrel.

_Of Sparrow screaming in pain_.

Eyes snapping open, Rose felt her heart stop. Her world shatter. Her entire being fall apart.

"Ro...Rosie...?" Sparrow, her little Sparrow, was at her feet. Blood coated her stomach, and her toy pistol- looking so small next to Lucien's weapon -laying by her hand. "It hurts..."

_No...no no nononononononononononononono-_

Rose fell to her knees, her hands frantically tearing her skirt. Pushing fabric against her sister's stomach. Sparrow...why? Why had she jumped in front of her? Why?!

"Sparrow, hold on! Please, hold on!" Rose babbled, her voice cracking and breaking. Hot, fat tears rolled down her cheeks. She held her hands on her sister, trying to stop the bleeding. Desperately trying to hold on. "I'll get you a potion, alright? I'll find someone to help you!"

Pain-fogged blue eyes stared up at her, unfocused and unseeing. "Ro-Rosie? I'm sc-scared. I'm scared."

"Sparrow! Don't give up, please, don't give up! I-I-" Rose couldn't form words. She couldn't _breathe_.

Everything was falling apart. Warmth spread over her hands, stained red with her sister's blood. Sparrow's breaths were wet. She was barely sucking in air. Her face was pale, and her eyes blank.

"Ro-Ro-" Sparrow croaked, her voice fading with each passing second. Her eyes sliding shut. "I do-don't wan-Rosi-"

Silence. Eyes falling shut. Breathing stopping.

Blood red upon her hands.

Her heart broken into a million, scattered, broken shards.

Rose let out an inhuman wail, falling atop her sister's body. She slammed her hands down, trying to get something, _anything_. Her sister didn't react. Her eyes didn't open. Her cheeky smile didn't return. There was nothing left. Nothing left at all.

"Sparrow...little Sparrow..." Rose mumbled, her voice caught in her throat and barely audible. "Don't go...don't leave me like this. Hey, Sparrow. Don't leave me, you hear? You need to wake up, alright? We need to wake up and go home. You wanted that dog, remember?" Rose's voice grew weaker and weaker, her hair falling in front of red eyes and silent sobs. "I promise, we'll take good care of him. You just need to stay with me, alright?"

_Don't leave me all alone._

_Don't make me live without you._

_I can't do this. I can't do this alone._

_I-I-_

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry Sparrow please don't leave me all alone please don't-"

The sound of a pistol cocking echoed in the room. Rose's eyes, dead to the world, turned up. Lucien stood above her, a pained look on his face. A grimace of regret. A rictus of sorrow, at what he had done.

"Truly, this isn't what I wanted. However..." Lucien aimed the pistol at Rose, his hand shaking like a leaf. "Nothing must stand in my way." His finger pulled down on the trigger, light flashing from the barrel. "I'm sorry."

Everything went black.

* * *

_"Hey, she's still alive!"_

_"Rose? Oh dear Avo, Rose! Come on, we need to get her to the barracks!"_

_"What about her sister, Derek?"_

_"Her...oh no. Sparrow?"_

_"She's dead, Derek."_

_"...Lucien. The bastard killed her."_

_"Let's make sure that Rose doesn't die too, alright?"_

_"She won't die on _my_ watch!"_

* * *

**AN: I live? XD**

**Um...how to put this...? I haven't really felt like writing?**

**No, that's a bad answer...**

**I pretty much retired from writing, honestly. Didn't feel like doing it? I still don't really want to write much. Buuuuutttttt. Fable. Rose. It kinda poked me into writing again?**

**Or you can blame my brother for this, since he wanted me to do it XD**

**Either way, another Fable fic. That one new Rose lives/Sparrow dies fic directly inspired it. Maybe I'll keep writing it this time.**

**(He also helped quite a lot with this, and is posting it on his SV account. I'm posting it here :P)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_'That's her, isn't it?'_

_'Huh? Oh. The orphan?'_

_'Yeah. Heard that she was taken to the Castle the night Lord Lucien vanished. Her and another girl.'_

_'Must've been a sister. Heard that 'ole Derek took her in because of that. Maybe that's why she looks like that?'_

_'Maybe.'_

Gossips. They never knew when to shut up, or when to mind their own business. To them, a woman wandering down the street aimlessly was a reason to talk about their past. To them, it never mattered if the woman wore a dress or a guard uniform. If she carried a vase in hand, or walked with a sword strapped to her back. She was always going to be the target of their gossip. Be they old people who had been young adults when she lived here, or young adults her own age, who had been children. Children who had bullied her and...and...

Sucking in a deep, steadying, breath...Rose forced those thoughts away. She ignored the way she had stumbled, and placed a hand against her heart. Against the faded scar, hidden beneath her thin Guard uniform.

_Sparrow..._

Pushing herself away from the wall she had fallen against, Rose continued walking. Her hand fell from her heart, and to her side. It lingered upon the faded wood, resting on her hip. Blue eyes looked down at it, a forlorn smile crossing her pale lips. The toy gun looked incongruous on her hip, when she had a rifle slung over her back. It was all she had left. It and the faded piece of pink fabric, stained brown, tied on the hilt of her longsword.

All she had left of her beloved sister.

"Oi, Rose! You doing alright, today?"

With tired eyes, the Guard looked up. Her smile didn't change, when she looked into worried grey eyes. "I'm...as well as I can be, if I'm being honest."

"Figured as much. Come on in, darling, and I'll get you some of those flowers you like so much."

The voice belonged to a portly old woman who ran a small shop, near where...near where that trader had set up. She had basically taken Rose in, when Derek had saved her that night. Saved what was left of her, anyway.

At any rate, Rose owed this woman a lot. Mary was a gentle soul who looked past her worse days. Days when Rose didn't even want to get out of bed or eat. Days when she wished, even if she never dared say it, that Derek had let her die with her little Sparrow. Those were the worst. No day was really _good_. Rose had broken, that night, and never quite been put back together properly. Her heart was dead, even if her body kept on moving. She'd given _everything _for her sister, and lost everything with her.

It never stopped hurting.

"You're visiting her again, aren't you, darling?" Mary's voice echoed through the little shop, while she bustled around gathering flowers.

Rose's smile finally fell, replaced by a grimace. A grimace that barely even scratched the surface of the _pain _she felt. "It...yes. Today was her birthday, y'know? I didn't know much else, but I always kept that in mind."

"I know what you mean. I always kept old Bertie's birthday in mind, even when he died." Mary came back into view, gingerly holding a vase of lilies. "Here you are, Rose. Say a prayer for me, will you? I may not have been able to help you when you were children, but I want your sister to know you're well-taken care of."

"I...I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Mary. For everything."

The old woman just smiled, and gently placed a hand on Rose's shoulder. "You don't need to thank me for anything, Rose. Just keep on living. I, well, I know what you're planning. You're going to leave soon and try to find Lord Lucien."

"You're-" Rose opened her mouth, already preparing a denial. A denial even she didn't feel.

"Don't even try lying to me, darling." Mary shook her head, her smile turning melancholic. "It didn't work when Bertie went after those Hobbes, it won't work now. Promise me you'll be careful and won't waste your life, that's all I can ask." Her hand squeezed Rose's shoulder once more, before the old woman pulled back. Her hand wiped at her wet eyes, as she nodded at the door. "I won't tell you what to do, or to forget. Only that you need to live."

_I haven't lived in a very, very long time._

Unable to voice those words, Rose merely nodded and took the vase of flowers. With a final, fragile, smile at her caregiver...the Guard stepped back out onto the streets. Her head bowed, eyes refusing to meet those of anyone else. She had only one purpose, at this moment. To return to where it had all begun.

_-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-_

"Hello, Little Sparrow. I-I'm sorry I'm late, again."

Rose stood in a secluded alleyway, far away from anyone else. Far away from any houses, save for the two on either side. The flowers that she had planted, each and every year, lined a dirt path towards...towards...

_Home._

Even now, ten long years since she had used it, Rose had never had a place that felt more like it. Mary was kind and her house was nice. Derek did good by her, even if he was getting older every day. Castle Fairfax, to her childish mind, had seemed like the perfect place to live. For all of that, Rose would give it _all_ up in an instant. She would go back to freezing and sharing a bedroll, under a patched and falling apart shelter. It had been _Home_. Not because of comfort. Not because it was a good place to live. Whomever had said 'home is where the heart is' knew what they were saying.

Rose had never felt _home_ after she lost her sister.

And so, as she gently placed the vase of lilies on the ground, Rose slumped to her knees beside it. Her hands shakily reached to her back, pulling her longsword free as well. Her eyes lingered on the barest flash of silver metal, when she pulled it free. Lancer. A blade with an ancient Silver Augment that Derek had pulled out of the armory. A weapon fit for a Hero.

A Hero.

_I'm no Hero. Lucien was wrong. I couldn't even fight. Sparrow...little Sparrow was the fighter. It should have been her who survived._

Hand drifting away from the silver, Rose reached up and gently pulled the stained pink ribbon from the hilt. Her hands lovingly clasped it to her chest, as she looked upon the plain gravestone before her.

_'Little Sparrow. The best sister in the world. Taken from us too soon.'_

Sobs wracked Rose's body, her knees giving out from underneath her. She slumped completely forward, her head coming down to rest against the gravestone. Beneath her, lay her sister. Beneath her, lay all her hopes and dreams.

"It should have been me. It _should have been me_." Choking out her words, Rose clenched her fists in the moist ground beside her. It was all she had left, in the end. All she ever had.

All she could ever see.

"Little Sparrow...it was my job to protect you. I couldn't even do that." Rose's broken voice barely rose above a whisper. Her eyes had long since shut, tears leaking from the corners. "I couldn't save you and you had to protect me. I-I-I-"

_I'm the big sister. It was my job to protect you. Not the other way around!_

Unable to even put words together, Rose curled up into a ball, sword and flowers forgotten. She sobbed like she was still a child, and perhaps, she was. A child who had lost something precious and could never get it back.

Dear light, she couldn't even hear Sparrow's voice anymore!

She couldn't see her sister's smiling face. Nothing but accusing, _dead_, blue eyes.

_I love you, sis. I love you more than anything._

_I can't keep going on like this. Not forever._

_I just want to see you again. I'd give anything to see you, one more time._

In the end, Rose had no idea how long she lay there. Rain began to fall upon her, and she didn't notice. The distant sound of crowds faded. Even her sobs trailed off, into weak little gurgles. Her body ached and her throat was worn raw. At some point, she had pulled the toy pistol from her side, and placed it to her lips. She lay a soft kiss upon the worn wood, imagining, for a second...that it was Sparrow's forehead she was resting her lips upon. Running a hand through her sister's hair, smiling when she protested how gross that was.

She never even heard the footsteps approaching. Not until a woman sat beside her, placing a hand upon her shoulder.

"You must be in such pain, Rose."

Eyes snapped open.

_YOU!_

Rose slapped the hand away, Sparrow's little pistol slipped into a pocket. Her hand pulled Lancer from its sheath with a _ring_, pointing the tip of the silver blade at the woman staring up at her. Rose hadn't even realized she was on her feet, nor how her entire body _quaked_ with rage. Her sword shook and vibrated, unable to keep the point focused on the heart of the woman. Red cloak. Face hidden.

"I cannot say I don't deserve your anger," the woman was utterly nonplussed. She stood up herself, reaching her hands down to dust off her dress. Clasping those hands together over her stomach, she turned her hidden face upon Rose. "However, I am not your enemy. I am merely here to help you."

"_Help_ me?" Rose's voice and words were incredulous. It was only through strength of will- and a burning need for _answers_ -that she hadn't run the woman through. "You tried to help me before, y'know. All it did was _kill me_."

"And yet, here you stand, alive and well."

The tip of Lancer edged forward, and Rose's voice dropped. She growled her next words, filled with a vehemence that was completely unfitting for her sister's grave. "You very well know what I mean. I died in that castle, when _that bastard_ shot my little Sparrow. I don't care if my body is still alive."

"Ah, death of the spirit." The woman still seemed to not notice, nor care, how close Rose was to murdering her at that moment. If anything, she seemed fascinated. "I'm afraid even that is a lie. You will not let yourself stop, until Lucien Fairfax lays dead before you. Am I wrong?"

The hell of it was, she _wasn't wrong_. Rose wanted to kill her, she did, but it wouldn't make her feel any better. In the end, this woman had not shot Sparrow. This woman hadn't pulled the trigger. Lucien _goddamn_ Fairfax had done that. Rose had kept herself going entirely on the need to gut that man. To make him feel even an inch of what she had felt, for the last ten years.

No longer was the gentle sister alive. She had died in the castle that dark night. All that was left was a woman, consumed with the need for revenge. A husk moving forward on that one desire, and nothing else.

_Sparrow..._

"Why are you here, then?" Rose never once moved Lancer, even when she knew she wouldn't kill the woman.

A small smile answered her words. Moving a single hand from her stomach, the woman pushed Lancer's blade away. She stared directly into Rose's eyes, despite her own gaze being impossible to see. "That is the crux of the matter, is it not? I have come here, as I know a way for you to achieve your revenge. Lucien has been constructing something, as I'm sure you've seen."

"That tower?"

Rose had seen it. The black, obsidian, structure growing out to sea. Everyone in Bowerstone saw it. Everyone knew that something strange was happening, though none of them quite understood what it was. Rumors ranged from the absurd, like the Heroe's Guild rebuilding, to some monster growing out of the sea.

It was Lucien?

"Indeed. What you are seeing is known as the Tattered Spire," the woman continued, her voice grinding upon Rose's ears. As if she were stabbing her with each syllable. "It was constructed by the last Archon of the Old Kingdom. A powerful artifact, that when complete, can grant any one wish."

"A wish." Rose let Lancer fall, her eyes widening. Blue, ice cold, and staring at the woman like she had grown a second head. This _again_? "You expect me to believe that bollocks, again? You said that the music box would grant my wish." Clenching her hands, Rose stabbed her sword into the ground. "It got my sister killed!"

A dark chuckle echoed from beneath the hood. The woman moved to point out at the distant Spire, visible even from where they stood. "The Tattered Spire is not some _trinket_, Rose. It is perhaps the most powerful artifact ever seen in Albion. Even more powerful than the Sword of Aeons itself. You will find that, should Lucien complete it, the Spire _will_ grant his wish."

Lucien didn't deserve something like that. Rose would say that _no one_ deserved that. She had gotten a wish, and look where it landed her. If she had ignored this woman's words back then, she and Sparrow would still be living like they always had. Maybe Mary would have taken them in, if they found her? No matter what else happened, even if _she_ had died, Sparrow would have survived. Rose would have given up her very life to keep her sister alive. What good was a wish?

And yet, part of her wanted to see Lucien complete the Spire. To see him prepare to make a wish.

Only for her rifle to shoot him in the stomach, just like he had shot Sparrow.

"You want me to stop him, don't you?" Rose was far from a fool. She pulled Lancer free from the ground, placing the sword back in its scabbard. The woman hadn't moved from her spot, pointing at the Spire.

A nod answered her question, "Indeed. You see, Rose, you are part of an _ancient _bloodline. A Hero, the only Hero, that can stop Lucien's plans. I had hoped to train you myself, to prepare you for this day. However, I believe your time with the Guards to be sufficient. We merely need to..." Here, she paused. Her voice dropping even lower, were it possible. "...unlock your Will. Come, there is a place you must see."

_-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-_

The Heroes' Guild. Rose would never have believed she would ever find it. More than a few of the stories that she...that she had told her sister, revolved around it. The great Heroes of old, who had fought for the people of Albion. Men like the Hero of Oakvale and women like Whisper or Scarlet Robe. Rose had never, not once, thought she would stand in the center of it. She was just a little orphan girl, like Sparrow. Why would it be any different?

_This doesn't seem right._

Rose couldn't believe, even now, that she was truly a Hero. That the Hero of Oakvale was her ancestor. Yet, here she stood. She stood before a circle of light, descending from the ceiling. The woman, Theresa's, voice echoing in her head.

_'Step into the light, Rose, and unlock your true potential. Become a Hero and you will be able to defeat Lucien, as you have always wished'._

Despite whatever trepidation she may have felt, Rose couldn't resist that. The power to _finally_ end her nightmare, once and for all. She couldn't possibly say no to that, could she?

So, she stepped forward. The moment she entered the light, her entire body quaked with raw _power _in her veins. She could feel it. As if fire were running through her body, scorching her nerves and burning her from the inside out. She screamed, her eyes glowing with an unearthly blue light. Lines carved into her skin, glowing the same deep, majestic blue. Rose couldn't see, she couldn't hear, she could only _feel_.

As suddenly as it came, it went, however.

Falling to her knees, the Hero took in deep, shaky breaths. Her hands clenched in the fabric of her long skirt, pulling at it tightly. She still felt phantom pain. Her heart, the scar resting over it, felt as if she had been shot again. Her veins pulsed with a foreign energy that she had no idea what to do with. It took every inch of effort in her, just to lift her head and stare at the 'Cullis Gate' at the end of the Chamber.

_'Good, you have unlocked your Will. To activate the Cullis Gate and leave the chamber, you must use a spell to restore it.' _Theresa's voice echoed in her ear, once again. The Guild Seal _burned _against her. _'To do so, merely focus your spirit. I believe you will find a fireball a simple task to produce.'_

Rose stumbled to her feet, looking down at her hands. She...she didn't feel like that was the answer. Fire was wrong. Fire was uncontrolled, raw, and _good_. She wasn't good. She had broken promises and let her sister die. Nothing mattered to her, but her mission and her duty. She was focused on nothing else. Fire was..._wrong_.

Sucking in a deep, slow, breath...Rose raised her hand. Blue light crackled to life along her fingertips. Electricity. With a flick of her wrist, the newly minted Hero fired a bolt of purest lightning at the Cullis Gate, the ancient device responding to her energy. It sprang to life, as Rose lowered her hand.

_Lightning. Hah. Sparrow...I haven't forgotten. I'll do anything to avenge you. Nothing will stop me, you know that, right?_

If Rose could have seen Theresa's face, she would have understood. Lightning. The focused energy of a Will user who had one goal in mind, and would not be budged from it. Very few were the Heroes of old, whom had learned it before the simple fire.

Rose was going to leave her mark on Albion, like it or not.


End file.
